Many conventional computing devices, including smart phones and tablets, are configured to present a “lock screen” when powered on or when transitioned from a power-saving state to a full-power state. The lock screen comprises a visual interface that is displayed before the user has entered a passcode (or supplied some other credential) that is required to activate the full functionality of the computing device. If the user cannot supply the appropriate credential, the user cannot get past the lock screen and the device will remain in a locked state.
Since a lock screen can be accessed even by unauthorized persons, computing devices that utilize lock screens typically limit the types of information that can be presented thereto. For example, the lock screen may be restricted to displaying only basic information such as the date and time, a signal reception indicator, a network indicator, and/or a battery status indicator. Likewise, computing devices that utilize lock screens typically limit the types of functionality that can be accessed via the lock screen. For example, the lock screen may be used to display received text messages but may prohibit a user from responding to them. As another example, the lock screen may provide access to camera functionality of the computing device for the purposes of taking pictures but may not allow a user to access photos stored on the computing device.